If there's one big takeaway from today's colossal job cuts at Microsoft, it's that Nokia's surprising strategy of trying to market Android phones — ostensibly as an oblique way to seed the popularity of its higher-end Lumia smartphones — is dead.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in his memo announcing that the company would shed about 18,000 jobs in the coming year that 12,500 of those jobs are related to the Nokia acquisition. Microsoft already has a devices division, after all, and many redundancies are being eliminated.

Toward the end of his note, Nadella revealed that a casualty of the integration would be Nokia X, the brand's infant Android line, launched back in February. While Nadella didn't specifically state X was being discontinued, he said that "select" models would be reconfigured as Lumias, running Windows Phone.

Does that mean the remaining X phones will stay on the market? Nope — they're being killed altogether, according to an internal memo about the cuts from Jo Harlow, who heads up Nokia smartphones. First reported by BGR India, the note says development of Nokia's "mobile phones" (i.e., anything that's not a Lumia) would cease immediately. Support for devices already sold will continue for about 18 months.

Lumia looms

The strategy going forward couldn't be clearer: It's all Lumia, all the time. Lumia has traditionally represented Nokia's high end, not to mention the main fleet of devices running Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system. The simpler Nokia Asha models and feature phones filled in the low end — a key area of focus to make headway in markets where everyone doesn't yet own a smartphone (think Brazil, India and China).

In those markets, Android is a powerful competitor, offering extremely low-cost models with access to hundreds of thousand of apps that Windows Phone didn't have. Nokia X was intended to piggyback on the popularity of cheap Android phones — tossing out any trace of Google services and replacing them with gateways to Microsoft/Nokia counterparts, such as Here Maps and OneDrive.

The plan was a longshot, but it had a clear goal: seed a new generation of Lumia fans by offering a cheap phone that runs Android apps but has the soul of a Windows Phone. The presumption was that when those customers would upgrade, they'd go Lumia.

Now the presumption appears to be, "Screw that." By abandoning Nokia X as well as Asha and feature phones, Microsoft appears to be saying goodbye to the low end. But it's not; Microsoft is just confident it can offer Windows Phone in ever-cheaper models. Today, the cheapest Lumia (the 520) sells for $100 or even less. Given how fast smartphone tech is progressing, even less expensive — and more capable — models are on the way.

Microsoft appears to be equally confident that Windows Phone can give consumers a smartphone experience that's just as good if not better than Android. Here's where the logic doesn't quite add up, and you can start to see the intent, if not the wisdom, of the Nokia X move. Even though the hardware of cheap Android phones sometimes struggles, at least the app you're looking for is probably available. It's also more likely to have the latest and best features.

Winning the low end

By cutting Nokia X, Asha and feature phones, Microsoft certainly has a more coherent and unified offering in mobile. Microsoft has good reason to be upbeat: Windows Phone is strong in many developing markets (particularly Latin America), and Gartner predicts it could reach market share as high as 10% by 2018. Android was a flirtation, a distraction, and not at all what the focus should be.

It also happens to be the most popular mobile platform on the planet. And the low end — where Android is strongest — is very important to Microsoft and Windows Phone (Apple, which competes very strongly in the high end, doesn't care about it so much). Maybe Nokia X was a mistake and would have undermined Windows Phone in general, but it gave Microsoft a clear way into the pockets of price-conscious customers.

Will the same customers who might have bought an X phone, an Asha or even a Nokia feature phone opt for a Lumia? Microsoft appears confident that they will, but such a blanket move smacks of overconfidence. Whatever happens, Microsoft's plan for mobile is clear: Succeed with Windows Phone — and only Windows Phone — or die trying.

Mashable
is a global, multi-platform media and entertainment company. Powered by its own proprietary technology, Mashable is the go-to source for tech, digital culture and entertainment content for its dedicated and influential audience around the globe.